The Brilliance of White
by thanks for smoking
Summary: Drabble series. His soul, no longer warmed by his spirit, grew blacker than the dusk that engulfed the sky, but his wings defied this change of heart and shone the most brilliant hue of white.
1. The Brilliance of White

**I; The Brilliance of White.  
**"his soul, no longer warmed by his spirit, grew blacker  
than the dusk that engulfed the sky, but his wings defied this change of heart  
and shone in a brilliant hue of white."

**

* * *

**

A metallic taste quickly coated and gathered in her mouth as his vice-like grip on her jaw caused her bite down on her lower lip, but the sharp jolt of pain elicited a soft and delicate whimper from her elevated body, which was only drowned out in the dull thrum of the machina pipes that infested her cell walls. Plump, scarlet tears swiftly collected at the corners of her mouth, and began to dribble down to her chin, leaving macabre stains in their deliberate wake. His dark eyes lit up and followed them all the way down until one met her white shawl, and then he sneered at her, teeth bared in what was a gross deconstruction of a familiar smile. Before she even knew what was happening, he abruptly pulled his grip away, letting her tumble to the cold floor with a harsh crack.

She looked up at him, golden eyes welling up and filming over, pleading for an answer or some semblance of the friend she once knew, just…something. Anything, but to no avail, and her heart dropped as blue within black eyes coldly stared down at her hunched form. He merely sniffed at her, giving her one last indifferent look before leaving her in a shower of incandescent feathers, the door slamming and locking behind him. After a few moments of silence, she sputtered and wept, marring the persistently glowing feathers that lay scattered all about her with red flecks until she hid her face in her hands in a mixture of shame and despair. No matter how much she wanted to deny it, the facts were lain completely bare in front of her, despite how badly she wanted to dismiss them and think of this as just a dream.

His soul, his heart, his entire being – she could feel that it all had changed, somehow tainted by this newfound brilliance of white wings. He had been changed into something completely different; a shell of his former self, someone she never knew could be birthed of him. She wanted to believe that he actually didn't want to hurt her, that this was just Malpercio using him as a puppet – torturing her with the visage of one she cared for, allowing the evil god to cause melancholy within the hearts of those who dared to defy his second coming.

But as the days passed, the black wiry cords of doubt slowly entangled and strangled her fluttering heart, she found it less realistic and more naïve to believe such hopeful little thoughts. She began to wonder if this so called taint, this pure radiant white, simply amplified a sinister and convoluted part of himself that he had cleverly kept hidden underneath a rough yet endearing exterior. That maybe, possibly, he was always like this but her adoration had blinded her thus far, allowing her to be carelessly ignorant to the danger that lurked right beside her.

This realization made Xelha wince and spit out what blood had remained pooled under her tongue, for as of right then, her own emotional weakness towards him sickened even her.

* * *

Dark!Kalas? Well, this is my attempt at him interacting with Xelha at least. Ahh well, this is my interpretation of what happened at the imperial fortress, because I think that Xelha spent more than one night in her little baby cell. This will be a, uhm, three to four part series? Possibly. I dunno. Anyway~ Criticism would be greatly appreciated, as well as advice to help me improve for the later installments. Thanks in advance!


	2. The Thrill of the Chase

**II; The Thrill of a Chase.  
**"the hunter, the one who watches and waits for the  
perfect moment to strike – it is he who provokes the  
prey to flee, filled with fear and confusion."

* * *

This time, he didn't even have to touch her to render her still and nervous against that cold wall, this fact merely made him smile and draw closer to her. Gilded eyes wide and fearful, reflected his pale face until the proximity finally registered and she closed her eyes – squeezing them shut like that was going to suddenly make him disappear from her presence. This just made his smile grow wide, a dark light sparked to life within his eyes, and he touched his icy forehead to her feverish one. She cried out in fear and disgust, a dark entity swirling around within her closed lids and sending shockwaves through her entire body. In her panicked state, she jerked her head to the side and pushed him away with all of the strength that was left in her body, anything to get him away.

Then she stopped, frozen in place as a cold aura swept over her as a memory replayed in her mind. The last time she even dared to touch him, whether it be in anger or worry, didn't end well for her. She tensed up, curling and folding down into a crouched position, preparing her body for the enivitable blow or the whisper in her ear – his breath shaping all of the ways he wanted to kill her. She shuddered, feeling a gross sense of curiosity emanating from the body across the room, and this made the slop they fed her rise in her throat.

That's when he touched her face, crossing the room in a gliding way; softly, gently, fingers gliding over the caked bloodstains he had created only the day before. Underneath the cloud of darkness that seemed to envelop her companion, she could feel raindrops of guilt condensing, growing fatter and fatter as the moments passed – only to be evaporated by rapid heartbeats and flush of heat. She opened her eyes, breath catching in her throat as his eyes met hers. Threadlike fractures of light permeated the ink, sudden rifts of conscious thought shining through the glow of Malpercio.

Hope, fueled by this sudden burst light, began to bud warmly in her heart at seeing this and thoughts of salvation began to run rampant through her mind and hasten her heartbeat as well.

Then, just as quickly as it appeared, the cracks were filled with a fresh coat of tar, and that dark, ominous light was reignited within his eyes. His smile was brighter though, filled with a childish sense of delight as he pressed a crumpled up Magnus into her hand and got up from his crouched position. As she began to smooth out the card, he swooped back down to her left, his lips at her ear and excitement making his breath warm; "Where ever you run, Xelha, I'll find you," he paused, a small chuckle rumbling through his throat, "and I'll kill you where you stand." With that, he left, once more showering her with incandescently pure feathers – slamming and locking the door behind him. She sat there for a few moments, gazing up at the dimming lights as a new resolution hardened within her heart and cut the cords that threatened to strangle it. Her voice, wavering and weak still echoed through her room as she stood up and lifted the Magnus above her head, the light from it activating nearly blinding her; "I-I'll come back for you, Kalas. I'll save you…I promise."

Suddenly, an explosion hissed through her room, the impact making her fly back and fall harshly to the floor, but it effectively destroyed the door that had confined her for so long. The manufactured air swept through her room like a jolt of electricity and rejuvenated her soul as she got back up and bolted out of her cell, leaving the empty Magnus to float down to the floor by itself. A symbol of the emptiness she was leaving behind, willing itself to be found by the guards that were swarming from the elevators to catch her and bring her back to be tortured by the shell of the man she once knew.

With all of the energy she had left, she ran towards the freedom that was required to make her hope bloom into the flower it longed to be. With a smile and a small laugh, she pressed her feet against warm fur of her Dragon, and lifted off – wings flourishing and spreading out to greet the cold breeze in a burst of jubilant feelings and confidence that she was going to do the right thing. That soon, Malpercio would be vanquished, everyone that she loved would be saved and they would bathe in the sunlight together again.

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Aaldkjfljd. Sorry for the extra super late and lame-ass chapter guys. School's been a bitch. Ahh, I'd like to thank all of my reviewers, especially **TJDork**, who wrote a review longer than my actual story. Also, thank you **Sticky Wins **for being another person in this world that likes to psychoanalyze fiction characters. You're not alone, I promise! Alright, stay tuned for the next installment, which brings up the question; does anyone have the full Ocean Prayer documented? If not, that's ok~ That just means I'll have to kick Dark!Kalas' ass again.

Also, in my mind, I'd rather not have the Guardian Spirit be a part of my fictions. I...I dunno, I just prefer fictions that leave them out of it.


End file.
